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PA Peer Support Coalition

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Board of Directors

Apply to Serve on the Board

We are looking for leaders who are passionate about promoting professional peer services in Pennsylvania. If you want to help promote peer services, support those who deliver peer services, and increase the voice of peer professionals, please consider joining our Board of Directors.

The Pennsylvania Peer Support Coalition (PaPSC) bylaws allow for 18 members on the Board of Directors with a stipulation that every effort be made to have representatives from all regions of the commonwealth. Applications to join the Board of Directors are accepted throughout the year

If you are interested in joining the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Peer Support Coalition please complete the below application form. After submitting the below form you must also send at least one letter of recommendation to:

Pennsylvania Peer Support Coalition

Attn: Nominating and Leadership Committee

2600 Willow Street Pike Ste 112

Willow Street, PA 17584

-or-

info@papsc.org

 

PaPSC Board of Directors Application

All individuals seeking election to the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Peer Support Coalition must complete this application and submit at least one letter of recommendation. Applications will be accepted throughout the year. Election and reelection occur at the annual meeting of the board at the PaPSC Annual Strategic Planning Meeting or when members are needed based on resignation or removal. Appointments will be made based on the needs of the board.

Section 1: Contact Information

Name(Required)
Address(Required)
Preferred Phone(Required)
Alternate Phone
Preferred Email(Required)
Alternate Email

Section 2: Demographic Information

Demographic information is voluntary, but helps us to assure that membership reflects the demographic diversity of individuals receiving public mental health and substance use services in Pennsylvania.
Ethnicity and Race (check all that apply)

Section 3: Qualifications

You must be able to answer yes to all the following to qualify to serve on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Peer Support Coalition:
Do you have or can you obtain an individual membership to the Pennsylvania Peer Support Coalition ($27 annual membership fee)?(Required)
Are you a resident of or are you employed in Pennsylvania?(Required)
Are you able to attend the annual in-person PaPSC Strategic Planning Meeting?(Required)
Are you able to participate in teleconference board of directors’ meetings held for 1.5 hours every other month?(Required)
Are you able to be active on at least one PaPSC Committee? (for more information see Section 5: Committees)(Required)

Section 4: Experience and Skills

To maintain a well-rounded board of directors the PaPSC makes every attempt to have board members who represent a diverse background of skills that assist in the successful operation of the organization.
I am (check all that apply)
Please indicate if you have training or expertise in any of the following areas:

Section 5: Committees and Workgroups

The Board shall establish both standing committees and ad hoc committees and work groups as may be deemed necessary for compliance with bylaws and to maintain the effective operations of the organization. It is required that all board members participate in at least one committee.
On which committee(s) would you be interested and able to participate?(Required)

Section 6: Letter of Recommendation

This application will not be considered complete until we receive at least one letter of recommendation sent to the Nominating and Leadership Committee of the Board: Pennsylvania Peer Support Coalition Attn: Nominating and Leadership Committee 1653 Lititz Pike #427 Lancaster, PA 17601 -or- info@papsc.org

 

Trish Nye - President President

Trish oversees the Peer Support Department for St Luke’s Penn Foundation in Sellersville, PA. She is a Certified Peer Specialist, an LCSW, a CPRP and has her CAADC. Trish is also an adjunct for Widener University’s MSW program. She previously worked as a clinician in both the MH and D&A worlds, providing individual and group therapy. Her goal in Peer Support is to advocate and educate on Mental Health Parity to ensure individuals who receive commercial insurance and Medicare are able to engage in effective, evidenced-based services such as Peer Support. Trish is passionate about person-first language and empowering individuals to find their own path in recovery. Trish first began her path to recovery in 2007 at 20 years old from major depression and an alcohol/substance use disorder. She recognizes recovery is a daily process and unique to each person.

Giovannie Vilomar - Vice President Vice President

Giovannie is a bilingual person in long-term recovery. He started his journey one year into his career after graduating from college. He completed an outpatient program and has stayed active in the recovery community for over 8 years. His background includes work as a financial analyst, a financial services representative, and as a certified peer specialist. Now, as a consulting manager in a non-profit small business lending program, he guides, advises, and educates entrepreneurs from historically disadvantaged communities on how to start, stabilize, and scale their businesses.

Outside of his professional career, Giovannie, or Gio for short, has a close family member with very serious mental health challenges. Gio is passionate about powerlifting, and he loves to longboard and play chess, and is also an anime fan. He resides in Philadelphia and is proactive in his local community.

Andrew Weaver - Treasurer Treasurer

Andrew grew up in Lancaster County and graduated from Lampeter-Strasburg High School in 2014. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Temple University’s Fox School of Business and Management in 2018. After college, Andrew returned to Lancaster and joined an accounting firm, where he assisted clients with consulting, bookkeeping, individual tax preparation, and property management.

He currently serves as the Controller for an auto dealership in Palmyra, PA, where he manages all accounting operations, including financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting, internal controls, and regulatory compliance.

Outside of work, Andrew enjoys playing and watching sports—especially soccer and golf—spending time with his American Staffordshire pup, Rue, and volunteering at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Lancaster.

Marissa MacKeverican - Secretary Secretary

Marissa MacKeverican is the Community Support Program (CSP) Coordinator with NAMI Bucks County PA. Marissa’s role is to oversee and support the development and ongoing membership of local CSP committees. She is also responsible for facilitating, communicating, and collaborating with local, county and state partners to advocate for the improvement of behavioral health services. Marissa began her career with becoming a Certified Peer Specialist working for Access Services, which was the same company that provided her the life changing services she needed on her recovery journey.

In Marissa’s previous role, she was the Youth Support Coordinator for Magellan Behavioral Health of Pennsylvania’s Bucks County contract. She brought both lived and systems experience to assist youth, families, and system partners in various mental health and substance use issues with a focus on resiliency and recovery. Marissa is currently in pursuit of her bachelor’s degree in social work and looks forward to utilizing both her knowledge and lived experience to continue to break the stigma around behavioral health.

Donna Giordano Board Member

Donna joined the Board in December 2021.

Patrick B. Henry Board Member

Patrick has been employed in the Financial Services Industry for the past 26 years. His current employment is as AVP Commercial Relationship Manager at the Ephrata National Bank. He is responsible for the sales and service of commercial clientele situated in South Central PA. Patrick earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Policy from The Pennsylvania State University in December 1994. Patrick spends his free time doing home improvement projects, traveling with his wife, Amber, and their six children, and coaching AAU basketball.

Patrick joined the Board of Directors in 2003.

Ruth Kilgore Board Member

Ruth Kilgore, MBA, MSOD, ACC runs the women’s home for Sunlight of the Spirit House and works as an Executive Coach and Organizational Consultant. An education and early career in social work provided a foundation in systems thinking & a heart for service that underlies everything Ruth does. She has held leadership roles at GSK, where her work was focused on organizational change, at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and most recently, as Head of HR, Americas for a global technology recruitment firm. Ruth holds an MBA in Management, an MS in Organizational Development & Leadership, is an Accredited Executive Coach and is trained as a Recovery Specialist.  Ruth believes that growth, learning and change happen in the context of connection – to self, to spirit and to others. She finds it a privilege and a joy to work with people in recovery helping them find connection, community and healing.

Chris McKenzie Board Member

Chris McKenzie, BSW, CRS, is a Community Relations Coordinator at Pinnacle Treatment Centers and serves communities across Pennsylvania. In his role, Chris works to build and strengthen relationships with community partners, peer organizations, and behavioral health providers to support access to quality, recovery‑oriented services.

Chris brings both professional experience and lived experience to his work and is deeply committed to peer support as a vital component of the recovery ecosystem. He is passionate about person‑first language, stigma reduction, and the advancement of peer‑driven services that honor individual choice and autonomy. As a person in recovery, Chris understands recovery as a personal, ongoing process and is dedicated to ensuring individuals are supported and empowered to define and follow their own unique path.

Joseph Owens Board Member

Joseph is a social worker in the greater Philadelphia area who works in primary substance use and mental health treatment. In a non-traditional social work role, Joseph works as a marketer within the behavioral health space. Tasked to familiarize himself with treatment options in Pennsylvania and the rest of the country, Joseph has the opportunity of using his skills for the purpose of connection. Connecting those in need of help, to the resources and support that is out there. Joseph found himself encouraged and motivated to join the behavioral health field and help individuals struggling after himself finding recovery, following over a decade addicted to drugs and alcohol. Joseph attributes his recovery to support that he received from family, friends, and members of the recovery community as well as treatment opportunities that he was afforded. He dedicates his work and professional purpose to ensuring that anyone in need of the services within the treatment space are connected to equitable care.

Jason Snyder Board Member

Jason Snyder is a director of the Behavioral Health Division and policy director of SUD Treatment Services for the Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association (RCPA.) RCPA is a statewide association representing more than 300 human services provider organizations, including SUD and mental health treatment providers. Jason is also a Certified Recovery Specialist. In his role with RCPA, he is responsible for leading the association’s SUD treatment provider members in developing and executing effective strategies to influence policy, regulations, and legislation in ways that enhance the environment in which they operate. Prior to joining RCPA, Jason was director of strategic partnerships and regional director of operations for Pinnacle Treatment Centers, a large addiction treatment provider working in Pennsylvania and nationally. Jason has significant experience working in state government as well. He served as special assistant to the secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS), where he oversaw implementation and operations of the Opioid Use Disorder Centers of Excellence. He also was communications director for the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP). A lifelong Pennsylvanian, Jason lost both of his siblings to drug overdose deaths and is in long-term recovery from the disease of addiction.